OMAN TOURS WITH JAMAL

So guys I’ve literally just got back from Muscat today! After 2.5 days (2 nights) I was looking around for some guides and contacted a few but prices were extremely expensive that is until I found Jamal! He seemed to have the best (cheapest) rate and I won’t lie at first I was a bit suspicious as to why but after finding some reviews I was put at rest. Jamal took every measure to ensure I managed to see the main attractions that I wanted. He kept in touch with me the whole month prior to arriving. I was reading conflicting things regarding the visa and he contacted the embassy to get me some information out of his own way without me asking which was very kind of him. Once I finally arrived I was greeted with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen in anyone!! He gave me a SIM card which was great as I needed to message home let them know id arrived safely. Lunch wasn’t included in the price but Jamal very kindly paid for lunch and also got me an ice cream which was much needed in the scotching heat! Along with water and Omanis own chips (crisps). Jamal also very kindly took me back to the souq when I mentioned about buying an abaya as I had initially forgot so he took me all the way back and got me a good price - he’s great at haggling folks! I also met his friend Khalifa who kindly offered me to have some Omani coffee and see his house but I know he was about to sleep and wasn’t well so didn’t want to intrude and kindly declined but he was a very nice guy (also a guide I contacted!) overall I had a fantastic first experience in Oman the people are ridiculously nice (much nicer then Dubai !!!) and Jamal made it even more enjoyable! One thing to note is Jamal’s memory is HORRIFIC lol so be warned! I also want to quickly give a massssive thank you to a fellow TripAdvisor oman_explorer17 who gave me so much help in terms of guides prices etc etc which just shows how far omanis will go to help so thank you so so much you have no idea how much this meant to me as a solo female traveler. Guys please contact Jamal for your tour needs his email address is jamal3929@hotmail.com and tell him sam from Scotland sent you!!! Enjoy!!

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Sam, Scotland

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Our family just returned from an amazing trip to UAE and Oman. I arranged everything well in advance; the only thing I did not have worked out just before the trip was transportation from Abu Dhabi to Muscat.. I considered renting a car, but that seemed to be a hassle in terms of pick up and drop off in another country since we were flying back to Dubai after Muscat. I inquired about Uber since I knew you can easily hire an Uber driver in UAE, but was told that they are not permitted to cross the border. I called the hotel in Oman to see if they could steer me in the right direction and they referred me to a driver from a rental car company. The price was more than it would have been for my family of four to fly. I received several more quotes and they were all around the same. Then I saw contact information for Jamal on one of the forums. I'm so happy I contacted him! He replied to my e-mail immediately and told me he was available. He gave me a reasonable price and answered several questions I had re: the Visa. Each question I asked was answered very quickly, which put my mind at ease as it can be risky contacting someone in an unfamiliar place out of the blue. On the day of the transfer, Jamal arrived as promised and was very courteous. At the border crossing, I'm not sure exactly why, but we had to get out of the car and go into the building (they did not ask everyone to do this). We were so glad Jamal was with us for that and everything went smoothly. The ride from Abu Dhabi to Muscat was approximately four hours and Jamal had no problem stopping when we were hungry or needed to use the rest room. He also told us interesting things about his country along the way. I would highly recommend Jamal for your transportation needs!

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-Dina, USA

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We found Jamal (jamal3929@hotmail.com) on the TripAdvisor forums. Sent him an email about our itinerary and he sent an email (pretty quickly) with the tours that we could do within our time frame and the price. Initially the price seemed a bit expensive but then having contacted the other guides we found them to be similar. In our plan, after 3 nights we wanted to head to Dubai on a car as flights were expensive and the bus would take ages. Our problem was that having a multi-entry visa was expensive considering we were only around for less than 10 days and were wondering if we could get a single entry visa again at the border. Jamal reassured us that this was possible, which put us at ease. On tours, Jamal was knowledgeable and would accommodate last minute changes without any additional charges. When Jamal found out the hotel when we were going to be staying at after our Dubai visit, he offered to book the hotel as he had a voucher. We cancelled ours and this ended up us saving more than 130gbp on the last two nights of our Muscat stay. In Muscat, he took us shopping at his own expense and we ended up getting some quality products at very good prices. Jamal also introduced us to one of the local breakfast place (Tea Corner). The local Omani bread with egg an cheese was wonderful along with a good cup of Karak chai (strong tea). We were on such friendly terms that we would hang out at the local shisha places at night time. If you need any advice/recommendations or to book a tour guide then please go ahead and ask Jamal. Trust me you won't regret it.

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- United Kingdom

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Recently returning from Oman, I want to emphasize how WONDERFUL our guide Jamal was. I found Jamal through Trip Advisor, and as a skeptical New Yorker was not sure what to expect. After contacting Jamal via email, he was quick to respond he was available and can take us to the places we requested. Communication from start to finish was super easy. His English is great and he made sure to touch base the a few days before to make sure we were still set to go. At 8am, Jamal promptly picked us up from our hotel and did not return us back until 930pm! Sadly, we only had one day to spend with him, he said “he wanted to show us everything he can” and really did! They day was packed with the beautiful sights of Oman, a delicious lunch and a few coffee breaks. From the start to the end of the day we spoke with Jamal about everything! He was open to answer all of our questions and in return curious about our life in America.  We had such a great day with Jamal, we asked if he would join us for dinner the following night. We were so excited when he said YES!  Our only regret was not booking Jamal for two days to have more time seeing beautiful Oman with him. The personal touch Jamal added to our trip to Oman far exceeded our expectations. Our day with him was the most fun and informative day of our entire stay. Besides being an AMAZING guide we feel as though we left meeting a friend who we hope to see again one day. Our home is open to Jamal when he wants to come visit New York City.

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- Lauren, USA